The only way to avoid disruption is to constantly do what you would if you were just starting out.
-Aaron Levie, co-founder and CEO, Box
We may think it’s nice when things stay predictable and the same, but we must also be thankful for disruption! Our economy is more productive and our quality of life is better because steam engines gave way to airline travel and vaccines and pharmaceuticals replaced unnecessary surgeries. Change is not greeted with a welcome mat by those who control the status quo, and advancements in technology are nearly always scoffed at and opposed until they become widely adopted and irreplaceable in our lives.
Economic shifts destroy jobs and wealth, but they also create power and growth in new places. The advancement of robotics, machine learning and cloud computing are changing industries and accelerating disruption. Much is being written and discussed regarding industries that are ripe for disruption and innovation, such as this Inc. article and these thoughts from Quora users.
Disruptions are hard for civic leaders to predict and even harder to adjust to, but it is important that we try. We must learn about these changes through reading, attending industry conferences and conducting research, so that we better understand the impact disruption may have on the industries that are most critical to our local economies.
–Kenny McDonald
One Columbus Update
- Business Insider has ranked five Columbus Region communities among the 50 best suburbs in America – Bexley, Upper Arlington, Dublin, Powell and, at No. 1, New Albany. Congratulations to all five communities!
- This week, the One Columbus team is in Chicago for Area Development‘s Women in Economic Development Forum and in Denver for CBRE’s Americas Summit 2015.
- Back at home, our team is hosting two events involving work with international markets—a Global Fluency Learning Session meant to teach effective and appropriate communication with people from different cultures and countries, and the Columbus Region International M&A Network Launch meant to engage local investors, companies and service providers active in international mergers and grow this source of FDI in our region.